Hockensmith History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Hockensmith family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living in the region of Hockenhull in the parish of Tarvin. Hockensmith is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.

Early Origins of the Hockensmith family

The surname Hockensmith was first found in Cheshire at Hockenhull, a township, in the parish of Tarvin, union of Great Boughton, Second division of the hundred of Eddisbury. 1

However, we must look to Nottinghamshire to find the first entries in early rolls: Gibbe de Huckenhale who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1179. This entry was from Hucknall-Under-Huthwaite, a hamlet, in the parish of Sutton-in-Ashfield, union of Mansfield, N. division of the wapentake of Broxtow and of the county of Nottingham or Hucknall-Torkard, a parish, in the union of Basford, N. division of the wapentake of Broxtow 1

Almost one hundred years later, Hamo de Hukenelle was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279. Later in Gloucestershire, William Hockenale was listed in 1345 and a few years later in 1378, he listed his name as Huckenale. 2

East Cheshire records show: Hamo Hokenhull, 25 Henry VIII; Richard Hocknell, 2 Elizabeth; and Thomas Hockenhull, of Hockenhull Platt, 1577. 3 For these records, the date was recorded as the year of the King as in the twenty-fifth year of Henry VIII reign.

Early History of the Hockensmith family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hockensmith research. Another 117 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1577, 1606 and 1731 are included under the topic Early Hockensmith History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hockensmith Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Hockensmith include Hockenhull, Hocknell, Hokenhull, Hoknell and others.

Early Notables of the Hockensmith family

More information is included under the topic Early Hockensmith Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hockensmith Ranking

In the United States, the name Hockensmith is the 13,756^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Hockensmith family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Hockensmith or a variant listed above: Thomas Hockenhull, who sailed to Maine in 1812.

Contemporary Notables of the name Hockensmith (post 1700) +

L. E. Hockensmith, American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 8th District, 1923-24 5

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html